Thursday, December 31, 2009

Christmas Cookies ~ Declutter/Organize/*Maintain* in 2010


I have been kicked out of the kitchen! We are doing our annual "each child makes their own batch of Christmas cookies to share with the family" tradition that we just started today. :)

Oldest dd just put a batch of cinnamon sugar drop cookies in the oven. Yeah, it just beeped!
Middle dd is making chocolate chip cookies right now to slide in when the other ones come out. Mmmm.
Youngest dd and I will make sugar cookies. She wants to use the cookie cutters and decorate with icing.

Why are we making Christmas cookies on December 31st? Well, for us the Christmas season is in mid-stream. Don't ya' love it? We still have a gingerbread house to build, Advent Adventures to catch up on that we missed, stocking stuffers to get (all on sale now, happy dance - IF I can get out of the house before they box them up to send to nowhere), and rooms to clean/organize. Oops, don't know how that chore slipped in there!
It is so weird to tell the olders, "Let me know if you need any help" and just... leave the kitchen... (and stay nearby within earshot until they're ready to put them in the oven - Me a helicopter parent?? Nah!)

[Hours later]

Here are oldest dd's cookies:

Here are middle dd's cookies:


We ate cookies for afternoon snack with milk and later actually had them AGAIN after dinner with eggnog as a New Year's Eve treat. Ugh, too much sweetness at one time for me. Next week most of the candy/cookies will disappear so I let them overindulge. Dd complained that I'll probably freeze half of her batch - but she sure doesn't complain when we pull some cookies out of the freezer for surprise treats now and then or on Sundays!
What's Cookin'?
Yesterday was our first day home from a Christmas roadtrip to see my in-laws. I had lots of catch-up food work to do:
- Made yogurt.
- Made bread (the recipe said that it makes four 1 lb loaves but next time I'll divide into 2 or 3 loaf pans instead. Very good but short!
- Made yogurt dough for empanadas and an upside down pizza (right now the dough is just sitting on the counter staring at me)
- Cooked chicken and rice with veggies for dinner.
Tonight I just have some bone broth going. We used some for soup tonight so I topped the crockpot off with more water and will keep it going a bit longer. Even dh and youngest dd said that they liked the soup!! I just added cooked brown rice, celery, and a bit of seasoning.
Need to declutter?
Between yesterday and today we got both dc bedrooms cleaned, decluttered, and organized. I didn't go over them with a fine-toothed comb but they are clean, tidy, and livable. Truth is, youngest dd already has a new play set-up left out that slipped by me this evening (a complicated bunk bed that she made combining 2 different baby beds - it took her about an hour this afternoon to build it). Since they're having a sleepover together right now for New Year's Eve and I'm such a softie, I'll let her keep it out tonight and pick up tomorrow.
My immediate goal is to get the house in order before we start back to school. My looooong term goal is to MAINTAIN it! To help with the decluttering/organizing/maintaining (and motivation) I am going to keep these decluttering calendar pages handy this year. I've printed them out and have them on a ring. I'll keep it in the kitchen area. You can download them here and even sign up for a newsletter:
May you have a happy end to this year and a great 2010.
[BTW, I don't know what's up with the line spacing but it will not let me fix it - hope this post isn't too hard to read!]

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